Erica Alexandra
History Contessa Erica Alexandra del Portenza: 1978 - Present Erica is the daughter of Count Abelard of the House Portenza, of the same region of southern Markovia. Her mother was Abelard's second wife Alessandra. Not much other records exist (we shall get into that) but according to her personal accounts during extensive interviews she claims to have had a rather luxurious childhood, though speckled with tragedy due to illnesses claiming her elder brother and her younger sister being trampled in a stable accident. Yet, the true tragedy of her life would be the 1995 Southern Markovian Revolts, which were the first in a decade long series of intermittent riots against the nation's aristocracy. At the onset of this incident, Erica and her parents were dragged from their home after rioters (upset over Erica's father's constant tax increases) overpowered their staff. Erica's father was chained to the gate of his mansion and pelted with stones and even stabbed with farming tools. When Erica and her mother screamed to make this stop, they were beaten and assaulted as Count Abelard was unable to do anything but watch helplessly. When Abelard managed to free one arm after several minutes of struggling, a commoner panicked and shot the count dead. In that confusion, Erica was said to have slipped out and fled her pursuers. They chased her into the nearby woods and she was forced to live off the land for nearly a week as she worked to evade her hunters. When she made it over the mountains and into another city, Erica learned that she was believed to have been killed as her pursuers claimed that their hounds had gotten to her and tore her to pieces. Taking full advantage of this, Erica cut her hair short and made her way to the nation's capital to seek asylum from the royal family. When her resourcefulness reached its end, still far from the capital, Erica decided to plea her case to another aristocratic house, hoping to enjoy their protection. However, word soon spread to the region's commoners that Erica was a guest of their lord's estate and soon another riot was poised to happen. Under concerns for his own family's safety, the count prepare to denounce Erica as an impostor and placate the mob by offering her to them to do as they will. As the count was making this statement however gunfire silenced and scattered the mob as Lex Luthor strolled into the courtyard with his armed security detail and entourage of cohorts. Luthor had been in the area to survey property for a LuthorCorp development which was positioned to make the count a very wealthy and powerful man, but also would have brought plenty of jobs to the rural region. Luthor approached Erica and with a straight face claimed to have met Erica prior and vouched for her identity. This angered the mob further but also angered the count. Realizing his other aristocrats would frown upon him betraying another noble house in such a manner just to appease his own and protect his own neck, the count ordered Lex and his entourage arrested. A firefight ensued between Luthor's detail and the count's men; but the mob quickly scattered, opening an opportunity for Lex to escort Erica to the safety of Lex's armored convoy. After Lex and Erica were secured safely, the Luthor convoy fled and made a beeline to the capital. After having her identity confirmed by King Victor Markov, and her hereditary titles bestowed on her, Lex offered to take the Contessa out of the country and protect her while the King ordered military action to stabilize Portenza. The Contessa suggested that they vacation with her cousins in Vlatava. Lex agreed to this and they spent that summer as guests of Count Werner Zytle. It was on Zytle's yacht that Lex Luthor proposed to Erica and she accepted. With Portenza stabilized but relations still hostile, Lex and Erica thought it best to name a regent to the area and remain in Vlatava. Yet not longer after Erica learned she was pregnant, Lex received word his father had died and Erica traveled with Lex to the United States. Soon after Lex settled into his role as CEO of LuthorCorp, Erica and Lex welcomed the birth of their daughter Lena and had a proper wedding months later which was perhaps the most expensive wedding ever held in Metropolis.Deluxe Oracle File: Contessa Erica Alexandra del Portenza Threat Assessment Missing Data Trivia and Notes Trivia * By Markovian tradition, Erica took the feminine variant of her husband's personal name as a second name. Technically, she also has no surname, only a house name, but the commonly accepted Anglicized practice is to give her the surname of the region she is from. Links and References * Appearances of Erica Alexandra * Character Gallery: Erica Alexandra Category:Characters Category:LuthorCorp Category:Markovians Category:Married Characters Category:Brown Hair Category:Blue Eyes Category:National Category:Female Characters Category:Luthor Family Category:27th Reality